If you read my bio on this web site you know have a background in trends– tracking, predicting and reporting. WomanTrend goosed corporate marketing officers in the early ’90s to get them thinking about women as the real consumers in the household. I’m a trend junkie. I still look for a whisper of a data point that can build into a screaming hot trend. So, recently I came across this fabulous site on YouTube: TrendHunterTV. Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goMoO3DLDNw 

The well-executed piece will give you insight and inspiration as we begin “the tens.” There are several interesting hints about how home and decor have been affected by the economy, such as “tangible personalization,” “nomadabode,” ”pro-dependency,” ”next-besting,” and “d.i.y decor.”  Clearly this is the Decade of the HOME. H= Hunker down, O= Out with ostentation, M= Moderation is modern, E= Experience as currency (it makes a comeback, but on the cheap this time around!) I LOVE hearing about the tangible personalization trend and the quest for personalized gifts! Yee-ha!

This should get our creative juices flowing. Maybe you’ll pick up on the shared decor trend such as “his” and “her’s” matching pillows for Valentine’s Day…same size, color, typeface and fabric but one pillow starts the phrase and the second one finishes it.  Kinda like your conversations?? Sharing could the next best thing. Ya think?

On Thanksgiving Day, The New York Times ran a piece that spoke to the reason I started “Thatshouldbeonapillow!”  Journalist Penelope Green’s article, Holiday Gifts With a Story to Tell, opens with “Shoppers, be advised: The human touch rules this year…it’s clearly a time for genuine connection to the objects in our lives.”

The article features an interview with the CEO and founder of online marketplace, Etsy.com, Rob Kalin: 

“I think what makes gifts special is knowing there’s a person who made it and a story behind it. I think people want to buy things that tell stories, especially in an age when so few store-bought items tell stories.” 

So true. 

What’s your family’s story?  There’s a line in there waiting to be embroidered on a pillow!

To read the entire Times article click here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/garden/26gift.html?_r=1&ref=garden&pagewanted=print